Appalachian Dialect

I grew up in Appalachia, as did my parents and relatives. It is a culture I know well, and five of my inspirational novels are set there. Going to college, teaching, and giving many presentations over the years, I've been very aware of my Appalachian speech patterns and been discriminated against because of them. Perhaps, in some small way, this played into why I became a writer. I might not have a general American accent when I speak, but on paper, it's not noticeable.

There is some truth in the fact that Appalachian speech has retained more of the ancient British vocabulary than other places. For years, people who lived there were isolated, and the rugged, mountainous terrain helped with this. However, to say that it is like Chaucer's or Elizabethan English would be a great exaggeration. Language is fluid and always changing. Still, there're plenty of words in common use in the Southern Appalachians that can be traced back to Shakespeare's day or before. For example, a university English course I took on some early English plays had the word "flyflapper" in one. None of my classmates knew what it meant, but my mother had always used it. It's a fly swatter.

Some other such words are britches (pants), poke (bag), sallet (greens like kale or mustard), afeared (afraid), backward (shy or slow to learn), counterpin (bedspread, counterpane), directly (soon, in a little while), falling out (disagreement, grudge), far-fetched (unreasonable), frolic (party, celebration), hanker (yearn, desire), heyday (a period of popularity), hobble (walk with a limp), ignoramus (an ignorant, uneducated person), lambasted (attacked, often verbally), liable (apt to, likely), looking glass (mirror), nigh (close; nearly), piddle (dawdle, do something at a leisurely pace), pilfer (underhandedly steal), plunder (ramble through goods), pone (swollen knot on the body; cake of bread), sheepish (meek, timid), sot (a drunk), tickled (pleased), and many more. Of course, there are differences in pronunciation, too, but that's a whole other article.

Nursing Home Reform

One neglected area desperately needing reform in our country is senior care. I had always thought a nursing home facility would be the best option when I aged to the point I needed the extra care. That is until my mother ended up in such a facility. What an eye-opener! These are inhumane holding tanks until death comes. Our senior citizens deserve better.

Reform is going to have to begin at the top level, because the social security system locks in what most people can afford. Senior care living facilities outside the social security system often cost around $10,000 a month, a sum few can afford. If someone goes into a care facility for rehabilitation, a temporary stay, the person is given a private room and plenty of attention. Those who go into long-term care have a roommate and less space than a small hospital room. There's little space for personal items, and they must content with whatever problems the roommate has. This seems backwards to me.

Because sleep is so difficult when surrounded by others, the patients are medicated at night, and if they show any signs of restlessness or discontent, they are likely also medicated during the day. If someone did this to infants to keep them content, they would be sent to prison, and yet we do it to our elderly. Too often, the attitude seems to be these people aren't going to get any better, so they need to die as soon as possible, instead of trying to make their last days as pleasant as possible. When they need help, they are often neglected, not because the caregivers are so cruel, but because there's not enough staff to take care of everyone's needs. If they need help to get to the bathroom, they're diapered, a humiliating experience.

Therefore, I raise the call for reform and hope you will join me. The system has dictated so much of what we see today; the system needs changing. It will take people who care working together, but it's desperately needed and something we can do.

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Give God Your Best

And he shall offer his offering unto the Lord, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a brunt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings (Numbers 6: 14).

Over and over again God told the Israelites to give Him their best. We should do the same. Even our best is less than He deserves. We should tithe first, before we pay any of our other bills, not give to the church out of what we have left over after we take care of our needs. 

Verily, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:40).

Our best includes how we treat others. Jesus said, what we do to the least of these, we do unto him. Anger, bitterness, complaining, temper,or moodiness has no place in the life of a Christian. How we treat others is how we're treating our Lord. He will help you overcome any problems in character if you ask and let Him work in you.

In like manner also, that women adorn in modest apparel (1 Timothy 2:9a).

We should dress in some of our best clothes to honor Him when we go into His house. If ragged  jeans is our best, that is fine. Our hearts matter more than what we wear. However, we should dress to please God, not to please man. That does mean not dressing provocatively or being too showy. "Christians" represent Christ, and we should be conscious to do this well.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,  which we have of God, and ye are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19).

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Pardon Audible

I am happy to announce that Pardon, the last book in The Farmers trilogy, is finally out on audible. This makes all three books (Promise, Peace, and Pardon) available in print, ebooks, and audible. It has taken longer than I expected because we started work on it in June and finished in December, but it has taken ACX a month to review and release it, which is much longer than any of my others. 

I am pleased with the job Jerry Kyle Jones has done in narrating and producing this audible. He is a voice actor and radio personality who lives in Georgia with his wife and five children. He says, "I have always had a passion for performing and using my God-given talents to entertain people." His performances have won numerous awards, including the 2017 GABBY award from the Georgia Association of Broadcasters for excellence in broadcasting. He does a fantastic job with the black dialects in Pardon and with varying his voice for the different characters. He was easy to work with and very responsive to any messages I sent. I hope he and I can work together on another book sometime in the near future.

I chose different narrators for each book in this series to represent the different main characters. In Pardon, everyone's story is wrapped up, although this book is mainly Kevin's story. Knowing that he’s about to be taken back into the foster care system, he runs away to live on the streets. He sees himself as the outcast anyway, because his brother and sister are the perfect ones while he’s always struggled. Things go well to start with, but he soon learns firsthand how dangerous the streets can be. Along the way, he has to confront his own prejudices, and he comes to realize he’s had a distorted view in the past. Life is full of surprises, and Kevin will face his share of them as he moves into his future. As with all my books, Pardon can also be read as a standalone.

As a reward to my blog readers, I will gift a code for a free copy of any one of the audible books in The Farmers series to the first several ones requesting it. Just email me at janicecolehopkins@gmail.com. Please leave an Amazon review if you enjoy it. You can check them out on the books tab here or on Amazon.

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Black History

I majored in history for my undergraduate degree in college, and minority history has always held a special place in my heart, but I found most schools didn't teach it. In a day when the social studies curriculum rarely included any black history, I taught it - not just the better known figures like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, or Dr. Martin Luther King - but also the often lesser known ones, such as Charles Drew, Garrett Morgan, Daniel Williams, etc.

In my community, the African-American churches did a pretty good job of teaching the children some black history. However, I wanted the white children to also know and appreciate this heritage. Even when schools started teaching black history during the month of February, I didn't think that was enough. I wanted to integrate it into all the periods of history I taught, so I incorporated into the regular curriculum throughout the year.

What worries me today is that we're not only regressing in the teaching of black history, but history is rarely being taught in any meaningful way in a large number of schools, especially elementary and middle schools. It's been pushed aside to emphasize math, reading, science, and technology. This will most likely lead to more problems for our government and nation as its citizens have less and less of a background or foundation to understand the important concepts or the mistakes of the past. I think we're already beginning to see some of this.

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Straddling the Fence Doesn't Work

I've seen some church people who are only concerned with making sure they get to heaven when they die. They think they can accept Christ as their Savior and still straddle the fence to have one foot in worldly things and the other in the spiritual realm. They say the right words, are baptized, and attend church most of the time. They even contribute in special offerings or do a few good works for insurance, but they never really open their hearts, give God access to their lives, or change in any meaningful way. They don't try to witness or to be disciples, because they don't really care about others. They're too intent of looking out for number one.

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).

This will not work. There is no middle ground where God is concerned. We either obey God or Satan. Our enemy loves to encourage our selfishness and make us think we are in control of our lives because then he has control. That's why it's essential that we turn our lives over to Christ. We either belong to God or we belong to Satan. There is no in between. As Warren Wiersbe wrote in Be Amazed, "When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, we must be thorough and not 'half-baked.' His gracious work must permeate our whole being so that heart, mind, and strength are all devoted to Him (Kindle loc, 573). Compromising with the world doesn't work. 

"For some are already turned aside after Satan" (1 Timothy 5:15).

Salvation is not about what we do, but it's everything that Christ did for us on the cross. It's free for the asking, but we need to ask from the heart and really mean it. We must truly want to become a new creature in Christ. If you totally surrender your life to Him, I guarantee your life will be fuller, more peaceful, and more satisfying than you can imagine. A surrendered life has joy despite the circumstances, because we no longer carry burdens. Christ takes them from us and directs us, if we let Him. But we must learn to give Him all of us and not try straddling the fence to stay lukewarm Christians. 

"So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:16).

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Where Christian Writers Draw the Line

Christian writers have many choices to make beyond those of writers in general. These all have to do with where we draw the line in our writing. It's important that we stay true to our Lord and our calling. In a field where erotica is the fastest growing market, I think we need to be especially vigilant and aware of our choices. 

However, I don't think we have to dispose of all passion and reduce any romance to boring, insipid paragraphs either. I've had many readers tell me they liked how I wrote such heartfelt love scenes and still  kept them clean. I took this as a great compliment, because this is what I want to do. 

Another area to consider is how much crude language or profanity  will be allowed in a book. I have talked with several writers who include some because they say it is true-to-life. Because I don't like this as a reader and  have issues with  it, I choose not to include any in mine, but I still have to decide where I draw the  line. At one time Christian publishers considered phrases like "Dad burn," "for goodness sake," and "dang" as inappropriate because of what they stood for. I'm probably more careful than most with what I'll use, but we all have to make that decision.

I have also decided not to regularly post promotional ads on Sunday. This is an individual choice of mine, and I don't say it should be a hard-fast rule, but I do think it is something to consider. Again, it should be between you and God and how much you consider His day as a day of rest. The answer to all these choices is to pray and allow God to direct you.

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Messy Desk?

The second Monday in January is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. For all the messy desks out there, I guess you just have to be cleaned once a year. Supposedly, 13% more men have untidy desks than women. Yet, statistics say those with the mess are likely to have more education and to be more task oriented.

Some people need a neat organized space in which to work. Others like to have everything they need spread out before them, which often means clutter. In general, neither one accomplishes more than the other. It's more important to use the method that works best for you.

So, this second Monday in January is a good day to straighten your desk. For the messy ones, you won't need to celebrate in this way for another whole year. For those who prefer everything neat and orderly, you can just continue to do what you usually do, and clean off your desk. Happy celebrating.

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The Heart of Worship

In our fast-paced, digital society, have we lost the heart of worship? Worship should not be just a way to get emotional or to make ourselves feel good. It shouldn't be about us at all, except that we give ourselves to the Lord - body, mind, and spirit - as if we laid ourselves upon an altar in sacrifice. Worship is about honoring and giving to God.

There are really two types of worship, personal worship and cooperative worship. Both are important. Personal worship is where we fall to our knees in awe or stretch out our hands to take in His majesty. It's when we stand on a mountaintop or by the sea and drink in the beauty of His handiwork as we feel His presence. It's where we realize what a holy, magnificent, perfect God we serve. Cooperative worship is done among other believers, like at church. It's important, because it not only connects the worshipper with God, but it encourages others to worship also, and you, in turn, are encouraged by others.

David worshipped often. The Psalms are full of passages that tell us this and encourage us to worship, too. Worship should be one of the reasons we go to church. It is what cements us to God so that we never lose sight of who we are as His child and why we serve Him. It reminds us that none of it should be about us and that all of life should be for and about Him. Our main goal should be to glorify God, and worship lays the foundation.

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How Do Readers Choose Their Books?

A number of factors determine which book a reader will choose to buy, and those will vary with each reader. However, we can draw some generalizations. One of the biggest concerns is the genre. Some people enjoy books from many different genres while others will only read books from one or two, but most readers have specific likes and dislikes.

Price is also an important consideration. Some buyers set a limit and will not pay above a certain amount for a book. Others buy mainly from the sales. However, there are a few who pay little attention to the price if they find the book appealing. When you look at the costs of other entertainment today, books are really a bargain, and especially ebooks.

Other concerns might also play a part in book selection. A well-designed cover helps. Reviews are important, especially to those many readers who buy their books online. The description of the book needs to be interesting, and even the number of pages the book has might be a factor. In addition, knowing something about the author and his or her books or writing can help. What factors do you look for when considering a book?

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National Bobblehead Doll Day

Sports bobbleheads

January 7th is National Bobblehead Doll Day. Who knew? I have to admit, although I've made dolls and collected certain types, I've never given bobbleheads much thought. However, thousands of collectors do, and there's almost every kind of bobblehead doll imaginable. And, if you imagine one that's not there, you can have it made.

Justice Lockwood of the
Arizona Supreme Court

If your curiosity is piqued, you might want to google them. I was astounded by the wide range of bobbleheads. Some caused me to chuckle, and others made me shake my head. There're seemingly endless possibilities in history, sports, careers, and personalities; and you can even have one of yourself, your pet, or whatever you'd like designed and produced.

Bobbleheads are not limited to one nation either. They've gone international and can be found across the world. The illustration on the right shows a Tanjorie bobblehead from India. The dolls actually first appeared in Asia and were called nodders. During the 19th century, a bisque version made their way to the United States, but many of these were produced in Germany. However, they became almost a fad in the 1990's. A few years ago the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Who knew?

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Stand Up and Make a Difference

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will, forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Many Christians today are concerned at the direction our society as a whole is going. We seem to move farther away from God all the time as morals fall by the wayside, God's commandments are all but forgotten, violence escalates, and the voices of irrational extremists grow louder and more vehement. Unless Christians stop just sitting around complaining and start standing boldly for biblical values, things are likely to continue to get worse.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness... (Romans 1;18a).

Of course, none of this is new. It happened over and over again in Old Testament times. God's people would turn their backs on him, worship idols, fall into immorality, and get themselves in a mess. Eventually, calamity would come before they saw the need to turn back to God. 9-11 is a modern example, where the churches saw a surge in attendance right after the disasters. Isn't it a shame that it takes a catastrophe to make people realize they need God?

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 10:32).

However, it's not too late. Christians may have become a minority when we used to be the majority, but there is still a significant number of us. And, although there're too many lukewarm pew warmers, there's also a large number of devoted Christians with deep faiths. Christians today need to be bold. As the old hymn says, let's "stand up for Jesus" before it gets to the point we'll be shot down for doing so. 

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Writing Goals for 2019

Many authors assess their previous year of writing and publishing and set goals for the coming year. I find this can be helpful, as well. In many ways, last year was a good one for me, and if the last few weeks are any indication, next year promises to be even better. I look forward to it with eagerness and anticipation. It will be exciting to see what the new year holds.

MaryLu Tyndall once advised me to keep publishing because the more books I released, the more my sales would increase. I've found this true. In 2018, I published my fifteenth book, and my sales have really increased each year (I'll have been publishing four years in March.) 2018 was the best year yet, and I expect 2019 to be even better. My goal is to bring out four more books during the year. I have fourteen unpublished manuscripts that just need more polishing and editing. I write rough drafts quickly and always have plenty of ideas for new ones.

My review averages are very good, but I would like to work on getting more of them in 2019. I find this is one area I've had trouble with. I would also like to take a closer look at the newsletters. The third area is to do more of my own formatting and publishing. However, I have a tendency to put too much pressure on myself, and I also want to relax and enjoy the writing/publishing journey. I do find it fun.

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